DNA
by ilovefullmetalRoyEd
Summary: There's a new girl at Azumano Middle School and Takeshi Saehara is acting rather strangely around her. Looks like he's cooking up some kind of a plan to get her attention. TakeshiXOC
1. A Meeting of Some Sort

Daisuke Niwa yawned as he entered the rail car and sat down on a bench seat.

"Why does Mom have to make me steal on school nights?" he muttered. "I'm so tired." He lay down on the bench after noticing the car was empty, putting his arms beneath his head for support. Daisuke attempted to blow some of his spiky red bangs from his face but with no luck. Closing his eyes, he though of his plans for today.

Last week Daisuke had asked Risa Harada, his crush and the trigger of his alter-ego, if they could walk to school together and she said yes. He smiled at this thought. Ever since he'd turned fourteen, his life had been turned upside down thanks to his family's curse. Maybe his luck was starting to turn around.

As Daisuke lay there smiling, consumed in his thoughts, another passenger entered the rail car. The person sat across from Daisuke's head on the other side of the car. He opened his eyes and glanced across from him, finding a girl. As he looked at the girl he noticed something other than her thigh length petal pink hair that curled up at the ends, and her wide rosy red eyes. Daisuke was sure that he had never seen this girl before, yet she was wearing the Azumano middle school girl's uniform of maroon and white; his school.

'Maybe she's a new student.' he thought, 'It is a bit into the school year after all.'

He sat up and the movement caught her attention. Or maybe she was staring at him before?

"Hi there." Daisuke said.

"Um, hi" the girl replied. Her soft voice only accentuated her innocent appearance.

"So, you're new at Azumano?" he asked.

"Yes, do you go there?" she responded.

"Yeah, do you know where you're going? I could…" Daisuke was cut off by the conductor announcing their arrival at the next stop.

"Ah!" Daisuke jumped up and grabbed his bag. "I'm sorry, I'm meeting someone here. Maybe I'll see you later."

With those parting words, Daisuke ran to the next car in search of Risa Harada. The girl simply stared after him in his retreat.

'Did that really just happen?' she thought.

She almost couldn't comprehend the level of rudeness she was just shown. If she did run into that boy again, she'd demand an apology. As the rail car pulled to its final stop, she departed and scanned the crowd for the rude red-head. Failing, the girl began walking in the general direction of the young adults.

When the rail car came to a stop, Risa was chattering away about last night. She had been watching the news and their coverage of Dark's latest escapade.

"Did you watch Dark last night, Daisuke?"

"Oh, no I didn't. I was busy studying…"

As always, Daisuke did his best to listen to Risa's gushing over his other self. It hurt him to do so, but he didn't think it was possible to change her mind; at least not now.

"So how are things at home? What has Riku been up to?" Daisuke asked.

"Riku's been really busy with track practice. I've just been alone at home for a while." Risa said.

Their conversation soon drifted into silence as they walked. Before they knew it they had arrived at the school. When they made it to the classroom, Risa suddenly stopped. She turned around and grabbed Daisuke's arm.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure?"

"Will you come shopping with me tomorrow?" she asked.

"Um…" Daisuke pondered this for a moment. "…okay. Do you mind my asking why?"

"Well, I need a guy's opinion on a couple of outfits I saw. Will you please?" She gazed at him with her shining brown eyes. He shook his head trying to calm his nerves.

"S-sure, I guess I can go with you." Daisuke started taking deep breaths.

"Thank you so much Daisuke!" Risa said. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. His eyes grew wide and his breathing began to quicken.

'Got to get out of this!' he thought.

"You're welcome. Excuse me for a second!" he said breaking out of her embrace. Risa looked up as he dashed down the hallway and turned a corner. She blinked not sure what just happened. Shaking her head she opened the classroom door and was greeted with a loud, "Harada!"

'Does he really have to do that?!' she thought annoyed. "I can hear you fine Saehara. You're standing right in front of me."

"So where's Daisuke? I thought I heard him just now…" he said, ignoring her comment.

"I think he ran off to the restroom. And what do you mean by 'just heard him'?! Were you listening to us?" Risa said.

"Sorry, gotta go! Have some business to take care of! Later!" Takeshi said, edging around the younger Harada. He sprinted down the hallway in the direction of the restrooms.

Daisuke turned off the water faucet after splashing the cold water on his face. His heart rate had returned to normal after that unexpected hug from Risa. "Why? Why me?" he said. He stood up from the sink. Then he realized he wasn't alone.

"Hey Daisuke! What's up?" the brunette boy said. Daisuke flipped around and grabbed his chest. "Saehara?! W-what are you doing?"

"Well, I was listening to your conversation with Risa and she said you were in here."

"Wait, why were you listening to us?" Daisuke asked.

"Because Daisuke, if I'm going to be a famous reporter, I have to know everything! I'm everywhere at once!" he explained rather excitedly.

"Oh yeah, if you're everywhere at once, then you must know about the new girl here." Daisuke said remembering his encounter on the train. There was silence as the realization hit.

"WHAT?! I didn't know that! But I'm sure going to find out!" He turned to Daisuke. "Tell me everything you know!"

"Alright, let's get back to class before we're late, though." The two young men left the restroom, Daisuke recounting his meeting on the train, and Takeshi squeezing every detail he could from him.

"So, you said it's a girl right? What class is she in?"

"Dunno."

"Well, did you get her name?"

Daisuke paused. "Well not exactly…"

"What?! Do you know anything about her?"

"She has long pink hair and red eyes, does that help?"

"You are a horrible sidekick Daisuke!"

"Since when am I your sidekick? I though you were everywhere, remember?"

"That's why I have you!" he exclaimed. "Useless!"

Daisuke and Takeshi entered the chatty classroom, both slightly annoyed with each other. As they stood in the doorway, someone approached behind them.

"Excuse me, please"

The two boys stepped aside to let the person in the door and they both froze in their tracks. The person coming through the door was a girl of about fourteen, with long pink hair and eyes of red. The girl from the train; the new girl. She looked at the people she was passing. The brunette on her right looked to be in shock. The red head to her left was surprised. Her eyes widened as she recognized the red head as the rude boy from the train. She glared at him.

"Well?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you remember or do I have to remind you?"

"Well…" Daisuke was taken back by her sudden fierceness.

"I thought red-heads were smart. Are you going to apologize or not?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry?" He didn't understand why she was angry at him. Had he done something tis morning he wasn't aware of?

"Excuse me, miss, but what did he do to you?" Takeshi interjected.

"I met him on the train this morning, and he noticed that I was new. He offered to show me around, but before I could accept, he ran off!" she explained.

Takeshi jumped at the chance. "I apologize for him, miss. He's been a little off lately. If you don't mind, I'd be willing to show you around."

'Something's off about Takeshi.' Daisuke thought.

"Thank you, um…"

"Saehara. Takeshi Saehara. You can call me Takeshi though."

"Oh, thanks Takeshi-kun." She smiled and his heart seemed to melt. "I'm Sakura Tomoya."

"Would you mind if I called you Sakura-chan?"

'Is Takeshi blushing?' Daisuke couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Sure."

At that moment the teacher entered to begin class. "Ah, Tomoya-chan, would you mind introducing yourself to the class?" she said.

She stood up in front of the now seated class and said, "Um hi. I'm Sakura Tomoya. I just moved here from Okinawa with my mother. I guess you could say I'm normal. Heh…"

"Alright," the teacher said, "let's have you sit in the back seat. Sorry it's all that's left."

"It's fine, thank you."

As Sakura made her way to the back desk, Takeshi watched her the whole way while Daisuke quietly sulked at his desk. Sakura's seat was next to a silent blue-haired boy. She couldn't tell what, but something seemed strange about him. He gave her a quick glance, but looked back appearing bored. A few of the girls next to her gave her jealous glares. "Why does she get to sit next to Hiwatari-kun?" one whispered. 'Hiwatari-kun?' she thought, 'I guess they like him, but I don't really see why.' Sakura glanced at him again. 'I suppose he is kind of cute.' Still, there was something about him that made her avoid making eye contact.

At lunch, Risa approached Sakura before she left.

"Sakura?" Risa asked.

"Yes?" she answered.

"I just wanted to apologize for Daisuke. He said he was going to meet me this morning, and that must be why he left. I'm sorry."

"Oh, thanks. You two must by happy though. He seems crazy about you."

Risa looked flustered. "Oh no, it's not like that. We're not together or anything, just good friends."

"Really?"

"Yes. No offense to Daisuke but he's nothing compared to Dark!"

"I'm guessing Dark is your boyfriend then?"

"I wish! He gets busy so it doesn't seem like he could have a relationship right now. I will get him to go out with me though, I'm sure of it!" Her eyes went from determination to daydreaming rather quickly. "Dark is so gorgeous! I don't care if he's a Phantom Thief, I'll marry him someday."

"Sakura-chan it's lunchtime!" Takeshi said nearly floating to her desk. "I'll give you the Grand Tour!"

"Alright, let's go." She said smiling.

Takeshi led Sakura through the entire school when classes where let out, accompanying her every time she needed to get somewhere.

"So, Sakura-chan," he said as he walked her to the main gate, "did I tell you I'm a reporter?"

"No that must be fun." She said slightly disinterested. 'He's been following me around all day!' she though exasperated.

"I've been thinking," he continued, "about doing an article on you. Front page of the paper, whaddya think?" He stood there eagerly, like a puppy waiting for a bone.

"I guess I could…"

"Don't worry, we can do it after school, a one-on-one session." He said.

"Alright then."

"Tomorrow in the classroom, ok?"

"Ok, I'll be there." Sakura waved goodbye to him and headed for the train station. 'He's sure clingy. I guess it's not so bad.'

She had minimal interaction with Daisuke and Hiwatari-kun what with Takeshi following her around like that. Risa seemed like a nice enough person and she seemed to be infatuated with this Dark person. Didn't she call him a 'Phantom Thief'? She'd have to do some research later. Right now she just wanted to relax after her first day of school. She boarded the train, making sure there was no sign of Daisuke, and closed her eyes for the ride home.


	2. Interview?

Daisuke had managed to track Takeshi down at the end of school.

"Takeshi! Where's Sakura?"

"She just left, why?"

"Darn it! I was going to apologize but you kept dragging her around."

"Well, yeah! Since apparently you couldn't be bothered to because of Risa. I was just being a proper gentleman." He smirked. "I'm interviewing her tomorrow after school, too."

"But, I…" Daisuke wasn't sure what to say. In all reality he _did_ ditch Sakura for Risa. "I guess I'll have to do it tomorrow then." he sighed.

"Well, I gotta go Daisuke. I have to get questions ready for tomorrow." Takeshi began walking off.

'Why is Takeshi acting like that?' He thought as he watched his friend walk away. He went over what he'd seen today between Takeshi and Sakura. 'Is it possible he likes her?'

Daisuke sighed. 'Guess I'd better get going…' He started making his way home.

That night Takeshi got home, made his dad's dinner, and went up to his room. He grabbed a notepad and pen and began jotting down a possible interview.

"Hmm…" He wrote down typical questions: Why did you move here? What subjects do you like? What do you do on the weekends? Then the thought struck him. He flipped a page over and started scribbling the questions of his ingenious plan.

"This has to work…" he mumbled. With a last dot on the paper, he smiled in triumph.

"It's perfect!" he said.

"Takeshi!" his father yelled from downstairs, "my food's cold! Come heat it up!"

"Heat it up yourself!" he yelled back.

Then he grudgingly abandoned his work, not trusting his father with the stove.

The next morning, Sakura got on a different train car than yesterday, still upset that Daisuke hadn't come forward and apologized.

'Takeshi said that he's going to interview me today. I'm kind of nervous…'

She made herself up nice today, worried there may be photos involved with the interview. Her hair was straighter than usual, but her natural curl still took over the ends.

As she arrived at the school, she noticed a limousine parked at the front gate.

'I guess some of these kids are rich.' She thought.

She watched the driver get out and go around to the back passenger side. It was hard to tell who was inside with the tinted windows. The driver opened the door, and Sakura watched as Satoshi Hiwatari got out the vehicle. She was slightly surprised at his appearance, but still slightly afraid of him for some reason. Satoshi brushed some of his untamed hair from his face and all of the females in the surrounding area seemed to fall to their knees.

'Does he seriously not notice them?' she thought, 'He sure gets a lot of attention.'

Sakura thought she felt something, a skip of her heart perhaps, in her chest, but shook her head as he passed by her, not noticing.

'No, it was probably a hiccup or something.' She told herself.

Yet, she couldn't help but watch him as he walked ahead of her. Sakura had followed him all the way to the classroom and stopped outside the door. He went inside, ignoring her presence.

'Why did I follow him?'

Before she could look for an answer, Daisuke had come running up to her.

"Sakura! I've been looking for you. I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I really didn't mean…" Sakura cut him off.

"If you really are sorry, why didn't you ask to show me around when we met in the classroom? Or better yet, you could have shown me around and explained to Risa why you didn't show up! I'm sure she would have understood, Daisuke! Instead, you let me wander around by myself! Idiot!"

Sakura pushed past him and into the classroom. Daisuke stood there, stunned by her little outburst. Sakura went to her desk and sat there with her head down, full of anger. Daisuke went to his desk and gazed out of the window. Satoshi sat at his desk indifferent to both of them. Sakura stole a glance at Satoshi, puzzled by what happened before. She didn't like him in a boyfriend way, did she? He just seemed kind of distant from people; like he lived in his own little world.

Takeshi entered the classroom all bright and cheery about his plan, not affected by the other occupants' moods.

"Good morning Sakura-chan!" he said, making his way to her desk. "What's up Hiwatari?"

Satoshi simply glanced up and him and returned to his reading.

"Hi Takeshi." She said moodily. She was too angry to be sweet right now.

"Are you ready for today? I was up all night…"

"Later, ok?" she mumbled.

"Oh…" he said tuning in, "alright."

He left her to steam in peace. He decided to move on.

"Hey Daisuke!"

Takeshi saw Sakura shift out of the corner of his eye. "Are you ok?" He waved his hand in front of his friend's face. No response. He gave up and went to his desk to go over his interview strategy.

Risa and Riku entered the classroom together and instantly picked up on the angry vibes coming from Sakura.

"Let's do it later, Risa." Riku said. "She doesn't seem to be in the mood."

"Alright." She agreed and went to her desk as the rest of the class filed in. Riku followed suit.

Sakura was more focused on her thoughts than the lesson today with her bad mood. Every time she thought of Daisuke, she would clench her fists.

'Why am I so angry at him? He apologized, isn't that what you wanted?'

She glanced in his direction.

'Maybe I expected him to be more of a gentleman…'

Sakura moved her gaze over to Takeshi.

'Takeshi-kun has been a gentleman, though.' She looked back down at her desk. 'I'll apologize to Daisuke later.'

At lunch time, Sakura slowly made her way to Daisuke's desk. She took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry Daisuke. I shouldn't have freaked out like that. I guess I just didn't expect that of you." She gave a small smile. "Are you ready Takeshi-kun?"

"Sure thing Sakura-chan!"

Daisuke could see how his face lit up when she called him that. Takeshi paused.

"I'm going to talk to Daisuke for a sec, ok?" he said.

"Sure." Sakura waited outside the door for him.

"I have an awesome plan Daisuke!" he whispered.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Shhh! It's about…" He gestured towards the door.

"What is it?"

"I made a bunch of questions for her interview today to ask her out."

"What?!"

"Wish me luck, ok buddy?" Takeshi ran out the door before Daisuke could say another word.

'Does this mean he really likes her? Should I let her get ambushed like that?' He sighed. 'This is just his way of dealing with it, I guess…' He paused. 'I just hope he doesn't do anything too stupid.'

The rest of class went rather smoothly. Sakura was introduced to Riku and was excited about her and Risa being twins.

"Wow! I've never met twins before, identical or fraternal. This is so cool!"

"Well, thanks, I guess." Riku said.

"Hey Sakura, do you want to do something this weekend? Daisuke and I are going shopping, if you'd like to come." Risa said.

"Really? I guess I could come. Thanks" she smiled.

Before anyone knew it, school was over. Sakura sat at her desk waiting for the classroom to clear out. Daisuke glanced at Takeshi who gave him a thumbs up.

'Just don't be an idiot.' He thought.

Satoshi got up from his desk and dropped something, leaving rather quickly. Sakura reached for the small ball of paper while Takeshi was preoccupied with something. She slowly unfolded it to see what it was. Two words were written in Satoshi's neat handwriting: Be careful. Her eyes widened at the message and she wondered why he would do that. Was he really not as cold and distant as he seemed? Her attention was captured by a bright flash and a second of blindness.

"Sorry Sakura-chan. Pictures just come out more real this way, y'know?" Takeshi said, taking photos of her surprised face.

'Guess I was right about the pictures…' she thought.

"So you're a photographer, too?"

"I'm a bit of a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy." He answered. He took a few more snapshots and said, "Alright, let's do some questions."

Takeshi set his camera down and sat on top of the desk next to Sakura; Satoshi's seat. He took out a small tape recorder. Placing it on her desk, he simultaneously pressed the play and record buttons.

"Ok," he said, "let's start."

He flipped to the first page.

"Sakura Tomoya, age 14, class 2-B. How do you like Azumano so far?"

"It's nice she said. It's very peaceful being near the ocean. And I've met some nice people. It kind of reminds me of home somehow."

"So why did you move here?"

"Well, my mom was actually transferred. She works for an interior design company and was transferred here find prospective clients."

"Interesting. So what would you say is your favorite school subject?"

"Well, I really like art. I draw sometimes but I'm not really good." She blushed a tiny bit.

"Really? Daisuke is actually in the art club. You should ask him about it sometime. Oh, so what do like to draw?"

"Um, I usually draw buildings and things like that. I never really got into drawing people."

"Do you have any examples with you?"

"Y-yes, but they're not very good. Did you want to see them?" her blush grew a little.

"Yeah." Takeshi picked up his camera.

She turned around to reach into her bag. She faced Takeshi with a black sketchbook in hand, and laid it on the table, open. Takeshi proceeded with snapping pictures of the various sketches, ranging from homes, to businesses, to landscapes.

"These are great Sakura-chan! You should really talk to Daisuke about joining the club. He does stuff like this too."

"I guess I will the next time I see him. Thank you." She smiled at him.

"Do you have any hobbies?"

"Well, I do like some anime and manga." His face fell a little. "Just the romantic-comedy stuff though. I love anything that makes me laugh."

"Ok." He said. "Any special talents that you know of?" He began to blush a little. 'She's just so cute….' he thought.

"Um…" she thought for a couple of seconds. "I can curl my tongue into a 'U'."

She stuck out her tongue and curled it into a shape that resembled the letter U. Takeshi tried to show off and attempted to do the same. He tried it over and over until his face was turning red. Sakura started laughing.

"What?" Takeshi stopped, his blush blending into the redness of his face.

"Your face! It was so funny just now!"

Takeshi stared at her as she continued laughing.

'This is your chance!' he thought.

"Alright just one more question." He paused to take a deep breath while her laughter died down.

"W-willyougooutwithme?" He rushed through the words so they ran together like a single word.

"What?" She looked at him puzzled.

"W-will…you…got out…..with me?" he repeated, slower than before.

Takeshi's face was a deeper shade of red than before as he awaited her answer. The room was silent but for the ticking of the clock.

'What? What am I supposed to say?' Sakura slowly began to speak.

"I…I mean….um….we….we've only known each other for two days Takeshi. I mean, we barely know each other."

"Isn't that what a date is for?" he said.

She grabbed her bag and stood up.

"I like you Takeshi-kun, I do. I'm just not sure if I like you that way yet."

Turning away, she headed for the door, ignoring his protests.

"But-but……but…." He sat gazing at her, not sure what he could say.

As she turned the corner, he thought he saw the glimmer of a tear. Alone and rejected, Takeshi sat as his recorder clicked, signaling the end of the tape.


	3. Shopping and A Surprise

That night Sakura's head was just so full of thoughts she couldn't seem to do anything. So she went up to her room and pulled out her diary. She began keeping diaries after her parents divorce two years ago. It seemed to help her cope by writing her thoughts down.

Sakura opened the diary up to a clean page and wrote.

_These first two days have been eventful to say the least. I met one of my classmates on the way to school, Daisuke, but he ditched me for another classmate, Risa. And I met Risa's twin sister Riku. Risa asked me to go shopping with her and Daisuke this weekend, too. I really shouldn't have yelled at Daisuke while he was apologizing. I still feel bad for that._

_I also met another guy named Takeshi in my class. He was really nice to me, and seemed like a really good friend. But he wanted more than that. I sort of did too, but I'm not really ready to head in that direction quite yet…_

_Takeshi gave me an interview today and took a bunch of pictures. I don't think he would do anything to hurt me, right?'_

Sakura stopped to think about this question. Then she continued:

'_I'm not sure what to expect of him. Maybe I should go out with him and just give him a chance..._

_There is a guy I sit next to in class named Satoshi Hiwatari. I think he's rich since I saw him come to school in a limousine. And __a lot__ of girls like him. I can sort of see why, but there's just something about him that scares me. He seems really distant from people, too. But that note I found, what does it mean?'_

She sighed. 'I just don't know…' Her mind somewhat clear she turned off the light and went to bed.

Takeshi had made his way home in a daze. He made a snack and retreated up to his bedroom. Throwing his belongings on the floor he lay face down on his pillow. He just laid there, his mind in a stupor. All he could think about was Sakura.

"I don't……understand…" he said to himself. "What did I do wrong? Why didn't it work?"

He attempted to replay the memory in his mind, but it was blocked by Sakura's smiling face. Why did his heart feel so heavy? Normally he felt light as air when he thought about her. Now, he felt like a brick of lead. He liked her, and he supposed that she liked him back.

"Why won't she go out with me?" Takeshi turned himself over to stare at the ceiling. "Why?" he whispered.

He reached over the side of his bed and grabbed his bag. He rummaged through it until he found what he wanted. Pressing the rewind button he listened as the tape squeaked and squealed its way to the beginning. When the tape stopped and clicked at the start, Takeshi's heart sank a little. Then gathering up his courage, he pressed play. Staring back at the ceiling, Takeshi only listened as the tape went on; listening to Sakura' s sweet voice and laughter mixed with his own.

The tape clicked to the end and he rewound it again. He continued the heart-breaking process over and over, he didn't know how long. Takeshi ended up falling into a dreamless sleep.

Thankfully it was now Friday. The weekend was upon the student body. There was electricity in the air with the approaching weekend.

Daisuke walked into the classroom somewhat cheery but not as excited as others. He had a full plate this weekend. Tomorrow he was going shopping with Risa. Daisuke immediately blocked thoughts of Risa from his mind, not wanting to be too excited. Sunday was a different story. His mother had found another artifact to add to her ever-growing collection. Which meant Daisuke would have to deal with Dark. He glanced over at Satoshi, always being the first in the classroom.

The Haradas entered together chatting.

"Sorry I can't come tomorrow Risa."

"Don't worry about it Riku. It's not like I'm going alone. Daisuke is coming with me."

"What about Sakura?" Riku asked.

"Oh."

Sakura entered the room a moment later, silently slipping into her desk.

"Good morning Sakura." Risa said. "Um, I was wondering if you were still coming with us tomorrow."

"Hmm? Oh, no thanks. You go on ahead." She laid her head on her desk.

"Oh, alright if that's what you want." Risa turned around. "Guess it's just you and me Daisuke!"

"Are you okay Sakura?" Riku asked.

"Mmm hmm…." She mumbled. "Just…tired."

She lifted her head a bit and gave a small smile. Satoshi adjusted his glasses beside her.

Takeshi stumbled into the room almost zombie-like staring straight ahead. He blankly stared at the front of the room from his desk, still lost to yesterday's predicament.

"Um, Takeshi? Are you alright?" Daisuke asked, shaken from his thoughts by Risa's comment.

Takeshi simply blinked not turning his head.

"Did something happen yesterday?" he whispered to his friend.

Takeshi's eyes widened for a split-second, almost in shock then sank back into nothingness. Daisuke knew something was wrong but decided to butt out for the moment.

Satoshi knew it as well. "You're not fine." He said quietly.

Sakura slowly lifted her head. This was the first time he had spoken to her since she came to this school.

"No." she said back.

"He plays dirty. Be careful." Then he was silent again. He certainly was different from the others.

Sakura decided she would let a few days pass for her mind to clear before she would talk with Takeshi. Class came and went by. Sakura was still confused about what she thought about Takeshi and what he might want.

Daisuke had kept a close eye on his friend who was still dazed and confused. As the school day was ending, Takeshi finally began speaking. He sat with Daisuke on a bench outside of the school.

"Why didn't it work Daisuke?" he said. "That plan was foolproof." He slumped into the bench.

"Well, what happened exactly?"

"It started off like an interview. That was the plan. We were laughing and talking about stuff…..It was my fault wasn't it?" He sighed. "I was careless! I wasn't thinking about her, not really. I scared her off. That's it!" He stood up from the seat, fists in the air. "I just need to be more careful, right?"

"Well, I guess, but…."

"She told me that she liked me! I just need to appeal to her interests. Thanks Daisuke!! Gotta go!"

Takeshi slapped his buddy on the shoulder and ran off.

"Takeshi!" Daisuke cried out with no use. 'Please don't be stupid.'

"Daisuke! I need to talk to you!" Emiko called.

"Yeah?" he said upon entering the kitchen.

"I heard you have a date with Risa tomorrow. You won't be gone too long, right? You need your rest for Sunday. And what are you wearing? It'll be close to home right?" she asked.

"Mom! It's not a date! And how do you know about it?" he blushed slightly.

"I'm your mother; you can't hide things from me. So where are you going? What are you doing with your hair?" she continued.

"Mom! Mom! Stop! She just asked me to go shopping with her. It's no big deal, alright?"

"Oh, honey. I'm just worried about you, that's all. Not you go get plenty of rest, ok?" She gave him a tight hug and he went upstairs. "Why does she always do that to me?" He sighed.

'Risa said Sakura isn't going with us anymore…and just what happened to make Takeshi so out of it?' Maybe he would talk to Sakura if he saw her. Now he had to prepare for tomorrow.

Takeshi had spent the night trying to figure out what to do about Sakura. She did say that she liked him but that she wasn't ready. But when would she be ready? Could he wait that long? Or was it possible to speed up the process? Takeshi would just have to do some research on Sakura. Yes, that was it, research. But what if she changed her mind? If she found someone else? He would have to be stealthy and not let her know what he was doing. A secret operation type of thing. He smiled. Sakura needed to go out with him no matter what. No matter what.

Saturday finally arrived. Since Sakura had nothing to do she decided to go out.

"Risa had only asked me to be polite. I wouldn't want to intrude on them."

From what Sakura had seen Daisuke really liked Risa. Risa didn't feel the same way, unfortunately, because she liked a guy named Dark.

"Dark…" Maybe she would do some research today. Find out just what a 'Phantom Thief' is. Sakura began walking through her neighborhood, making a mental map along the way so she wouldn't get lost. She walked past a couple of apartments and home just making her way to a main street.

"What do you think about this one?" Risa asked.

"It's nice…" Daisuke answered.

"You said that about the last one!"

"Um…."

"Fine, I'll try the next one." She turned and went back inside the dressing room.

He sighed. They had been in the store for an hour. Within the first ten minutes, Risa had stuffed the dressing room with a hundred different garments; including bras and panties. Daisuke had to turn around every time she left to attempt to control his breathing.

'Why did I agree to this?! Why? Why? Why?!'

"Okay I'm ready." He slowly turned around as he heard her door open.

Risa came out in a tight black dress that came just above her knees. The top was held by spaghetti straps and the chest had a cut-out heart shape bordered with red thread. "So how does it look?"

"R-really good." Daisuke was holding his breath to try and keep his heart steady.

"Yay! I'm definitely buying this one." As she gazed into the mirror he gasped.

"I'll be right back! Excuse me!" Daisuke sprinted through the department store frantically searching for a restroom. He dashed inside a stall and locked the door panting. "This—is--torture…!"

Sakura was exploring the town and trying to become familiar with her new home. She had walked through her neighborhood and became curious when she heard the sound of running water. She came upon a small plaza with a fountain and a line of shops past it. Sakura came by the fountain and sat down on the rim. Feeling the cool water with her hand she smiled and her reflection smiled back.

'It's just so peaceful here.' She thought. 'I wish Takeshi was-'

She was interrupted as a dozen cars came squealing around a distant corner as passerby stared. A few people began chasing after the vehicles. Curiosity getting the best of her, she followed in the direction of the commotion.

Walking a couple of blocks Sakura came upon a group of people with lights flashing from cameras and cords trailing from vans to video cameras and microphones. It was a mass of reporters.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"It's Phantom Thief Dark." Someone replied.

"What is he stealing this time?" another asked.

"I think it's a painting…" he responded.

"So wait….he inside right now?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, no." The young man from before replied. "He leaves a note during the day and returns another time."

"A note?" she said. 'That seems rather bold.' She paused. "So, what does he look like?"

"He's tall!" "And young!" "And handsome!" three girls replied.

"He has a pair of huge black wings that he can fly with too. Pretty much why he's never been caught."

'Wings, huh?' Sakura thought. 'It sounds like he isn't human…maybe he's a subhuman genetic experiment, or something out of a fantasy manga.'

"Move it! Get out of my way!" Takeshi was fighting his was to the front of the pack. There was a creaking noise as a few police officers finally opened the doors and the crowd pushed its way in.

Sakura followed in slowly with a few other passerbies. The museum was rather small. It still had a fresh feeling to it like it had just opened. The large group of reporters was clamoring over a single painting. It wasn't the largest painting in the museum, but it must have been something special for it to receive so much attention from a thief. Since she was there, Sakura decided to tour the museum. She started in the far corner, a few places away from the rowdy mob.

The paintings were beautiful to Sakura. They weren't too elaborate, but still unique in their way. She slowly made her way around the room taking time to admire each work. When she reached the other end she climbed the staircase to reach the second floor of the museum. The upper level had fewer pieces than the lower but the paintings were much larger. Beautiful vases adorned the spaces between the frames.

Sakura took a deep breath. It was so quiet and relaxing. All she could hear was the sound of her footsteps on the tile floor. She took a moment to take it all in and decided to head back downstairs.

"This'll be great for my story!" Takeshi had managed to escape the crowd of reporters and was going through his snapshots. He was making his way towards the bathroom, passing the bottom of the staircase. "Now I just need the perfect picture of Dar-"

Takeshi stopped in his tracks staring at his cameras tiny display screen. He still had the pictures of Sakura from the other day. As he sadly stared he heard echoing footsteps and instinctively turned to look. The steps stopped and it became silent. There stood Sakura frozen in the stairwell.

Takeshi blinked. Was she really here? Or was it just an illusion? The two stared at each other in a haze. They stood for was seemed like eternity when Sakura broke from her thoughts and turned around. She ran back up to the second floor. The sudden movement brought Takeshi back to reality.

"Hey wait!" He frantically made his way upstairs to….do what? They were alone on the second floor of the museum.

'What am I supposed to do now? I'm trapped up here.' Sakura was slowly walking the length of the back wall.

"Sakura?" he said.

She paused briefly and continued walking. 'What should I say?' she thought.

"Um…what's….your favorite soda?" he blurted.

She stopped walking and looked at him. "What?"

"Well I…saw a vending machine downstairs. I could get you one if you want…" Even from here Sakura could see how he blushed.

She exhaled and smiled. She held back some giggles and said to herself, "That must be it."

Takeshi watched as she began walking towards him. Sakura stopped in front of him and smiled. He blinked.

"Orange." She said.

Sakura took a step backwards and walked around Takeshi to the top of the stairs. He turned around to look at her.

"Bye Takeshi." She walked down the stairs without looking back.

"What was that supposed to mean?" he said once she was out of his sight. His heart lifted. Sakura had talked to him again. Did that mean she was coming around? Takeshi wondered if it would be okay to follow her. Without giving it a second thought he sprinted down the stairs after her. Rushing across the first floor he ran through the open door and out onto the street. He navigated his was through the vehicles and equipment but couldn't find her.

"Dang it!" Takeshi kicked the ground. 'Looks like I'll have to work harder.'

"Thank you so much Daisuke!" Risa said. The two were leaving the store after a long couple of hours.

"No problem." He said. He struggled with his breathing, holding five shopping bags in each arm. Her car pulled up the street and he stuffed the bags in the trunk. He was glad to be rid of them knowing their contents. Sliding into the back sear he asked, "Why did you buy so much?"

"I need to figure out what to wear tomorrow. And some of those were too cute to pass up." she answered.

Daisuke knew just how cute they were too; on her. He sighed. 'Of course.' He thought. 'She bought them for Dark.'

"Hey!" she said. "Isn't this the museum? Let's go see it!" She instructed the driver to pullover and she jumped out with Daisuke right behind her. The crowd of reporters had begun to thin out so they were able to view the painting directly.

It was a simple artwork. A single flower amidst a sea of grass. Com to think of it this was the first time Daisuke had been here. Risa read the small brass plaque below it. "'Iris Sunset'." She turned around. "Let's go."

"Already? We just got here?"

"I'm bored. C'mon!" Daisuke quickly followed her outside.


	4. What Happened to Just Asking Someone Out

"Think, think!"

Takeshi was sitting on a brick fence outside of the museum.

"That drink comment got me somewhere. Maybe if I do more stuff like that we can get somewhere…"

Today's little meeting was certainly unexpected. He would have to keep tabs on her without being noticed. The air had become loud with the sound of engines roaring to life as the vans of reporters began leaving. The noise caught Takeshi's attention. He looked toward the museum in time to see Daisuke and Risa walking out.

"Hey Daisuke!" He jumped up and ran waving to them. He caught his friend's attention and threw his arm around Daisuke's shoulder. "Hey man, can I talk to you?"

"Sure I guess." Daisuke turned to Risa. "Are you alright?"

"Yes! Thank you so much for coming with me!" Risa smiled as she hopped back into the car as the boys walked in the opposite direction, talking.

"What did you want to say?" Daisuke asked. It was strange for Takeshi to not be all over Daisuke about Risa.

"Ok, so I went to the museum for the scoop on Dark's next target and she was there…"

"What happened?" Daisuke asked confused.

"Sakura was there! I ran into her at the museum! It was totally an accident, I swear!" he yelled.

"Just calm down, Takeshi! Did something happen with Sakura?"

"Argh! I just don't get it Daisuke! I mean, I think she likes me. We keep running into each other, it can't just be coincidence, right? Right?!" He stared at his friend desperate for an answer.

"Can't you just ask her out again?"

"You're my best friend, right? You got to help me out."

Daisuke sighed in defeat. "What do you want me to do Takeshi?"

"Just talk to her for me. She won't come near me right now I don't think. We'll just record your conversations and I'll get more info on her to work with. Then I can figure out how to ask her out."

The two boys continued walking as they formed their deceptive plan.

Sakura had ended up walking back in the direction she had come earlier and was sitting at the fountain again. A light breeze had picked up putting a cloud in front of the harsh sun. Unbeknownst to her, Takeshi and Daisuke had happened upon where she was.

Takeshi froze a few paces behind Daisuke and began digging through his pockets. Finding what he wanted, he sprinted toward his friend and stuck his hand down said friend's pocket, then scurried to an adjacent alleyway.

"What are you doing?!" Daisuke yelled disgusted and embarrassed. Takeshi was frantically gesturing towards his left. Daisuke turned and gasped lightly as he saw none other than Sakura, sitting but a few yards away from where he stood. It didn't look like she had noticed their little commotion though. He reached into his pocket and ended up pulling a small tape recorder out. 'This is crazy!' he thought. His feet had begun moving before he could think about what he was doing.

"H-hi Sakura…" She quickly turned as she heard her name, but relaxed upon recognizing Daisuke.

"Oh, hi. What are you doing here?"

"Actually, I was just at the museum." He saw her tense up.

"Oh really?" she laughed nervously. "You didn't happen to see anyone there did you?"

"Well, I did see Takeshi." He watched her distract herself by fidgeting with her hair. "B-but," he continued, "…he's a reporter, y'know, so it's normal for him to be there." His attempt at calming her down didn't seem to work.

"Can I tell you something?" she said nervously.

"Sure."

She began glancing around her. "I think he's been following me."

"R-really?" he said with nervous laughter. That actually hadn't been the case. At least not yet anyway. "What makes you think that?"

"Well we keep showing up in the same places. I mean, that can't just be coincidence right?" She looked at him nervously.

"I don't think he'd do that Sakura. He likes you a lot." She moved her gaze to the ground.

"I know. Maybe I'll sleep on it." She smiled a little and stood up. "I should probably head back now. It was nice seeing you. And thanks." She said. Sakura started retracing her steps into the neighborhood.

Daisuke stood up and walked back towards his now visible friend.

"You are the greatest friend ever! Thank you!" Takeshi yelled in appreciation. Daisuke reached into his pocket to return the tape recorder.

"You may want to back off a little bit Takeshi." Daisuke warned. "She thinks you are following her."

Takeshi looked him in the eye. "But I'm not!"

Daisuke sighed. "Let's just go. I'm worn out."

"Hey! How was your date with Risa, eh?"

"Nothing happened. And it wasn't a date!" Daisuke blushed.

"Oh c'mon!" Takeshi urged.

"No! Just drop it. Don't you have a story to write?"

"Don't worry about that Daisuke! It'll be great!" Takeshi started running back towards home. "Bye!"

Daisuke sighed watching his friend leave.

"Hey Risa." Riku had come home to see clothes strewn about her younger sister's room. "Looks like you had fun."

"Hey Riku. What do you think I should wear tomorrow?"

"Why? Have a date?"

"Kind of." Risa absentmindedly threw a blue dress across her bed. "I'm going to see Dark tomorrow night. How about this one?" She held up the black heart dress she just bought.

"I think no!" Riku said with a raised brow. She moved aside her sister's mess and cleared a spot on the bed to sit. "Seriously Risa, what is it that you see in him? He's a thief; albeit he never gets caught, but still…why him? There are plenty of other guys around."

"You don't get it because you haven't been in love before Riku. I love Dark more than anything."  
"You're only fourteen!! What could you possibly know about love? And how do you know I haven't been in love?" Riku blushed slightly.

"Have you?" Risa looked at her seriously.

Riku jumped up. "Forget it! I'm done trying to reason with you!" She stormed out of her sister's mess.

Sunday morning had come and went. Afternoon passed as the sun began its way toward setting. The night had dawned and with it, anticipation. It had been close to three weeks since Dark's last appearance. It was a relief for Daisuke, sort of a vacation. But with the added stress of Takeshi's dilemma, he was a little more worried than usual. He didn't want his friend to become a stalker. And he didn't want to be a spy again.

"Looks like another successful snatch." Dark said flying into the shadows. Things were almost effortless without Commander Hiwatari waiting in the wings. Daisuke was sleeping so he couldn't ask about why he wasn't there. Not that it really mattered.

Sakura sat in the cool air of her private balcony after watching the news' coverage of Dark. He was a rather popular subject – now she knew why. He was tall, good-looking, had wings, it certainly was interesting. Maybe she'd end up meeting Dark in person one day.

'Takeshi is probably down there.' she thought. It was like Daisuke said earlier. He is a reporter. 'Didn't he mention that he was writing a story or something?' Her thoughts wandered to when she spent time with Takeshi that day doing her supposed interview. She hoped he wasn't really writing a story about her.

It was nice and quiet at night. The small condo she shared with her mother was about a block from the neighborhood but still secluded in a small area. Sakura's room faced away from the other buildings towards a small patch of land that wasn't being developed yet. 'Peaceful…'

As Dark soared across the black sky, he saw one light peeking from the sea of darkness.

'It's been a while since I've been able to play around…' he thought. With Daisuke not able to object, he decided to investigate. What could happen? Dark stayed hidden by flying directly above the rooftops and made his way toward the light. As he got closer, he could just make out a figure. 'Let's have some fun.' he thought. Very lightly landing above her he said, "Hey there."

Sakura gasped and frantically peered into the darkness. This wasn't helping with her paranoid thoughts of Takeshi. She turned towards her lighted room.

"Hello?" she whispered.

Dark leapt from the roof and perched on the side railing of the small balcony. "Hi." he said.

Sakura panicked at the closeness of the voice and backed to the other side as far as she could. It was difficult to make out the visitor but her bedroom light revealed the perpetrator's face, smiling.

"P-Phantom Thief…Dark?" she asked.

"The one and only." he replied. "Since you know mine, how about I ask for yours, cutie?"

Sakura could feel her face heat up from the blush. 'This guy is pretty suave…'

"S…Sakura…" she answered.

"Ah." He smiled. 'This is the girl that reporter brat likes.' "That's a nice name, Sakura."

"What…do you…want?" she asked.

Dark chuckled. "I was just curious." He took a few steps toward her and took her chin in her hand. "And I can't resist a pretty face."

She closed her eyes as the blush took over her entire face. Dark smiled at the reaction he was inducing. He backed up.

"Maybe I'll see ya around." With that, he jumped from the balcony and proceeded to blending back into the shadows. Sakura opened her eyes as he was jumping and tried to watch where he went unsuccessfully. Staring blankly into the darkness, she returned to her room.

'Did that really happen?' she thought. Shaking her head, she crawled into bed and waited to wake up from what she hoped was a dream. She could still feel the heat on her face and thought, 'He was talking like the King…..'

Monday morning had come before anyone knew it. Sakura hadn't slept much since her dream meeting on the balcony. She stepped outside into the moist, cool air to wake herself up quicker. Looking up into the cloudy sky had her think it might rain. The gloomy view of outside wasn't helping, so she turned to head back in and stepped on something. She twisted her leg and found something stuck to her sock. It was a black feather. Sakura twisted it between her fingers to examine it. She stroked the edge with her thumb and found it was soft. It was real. And unless there was a giant bird around here, then what happened on the balcony really happened.

She put the feather on a pile of books on top of her desk. What on earth was she going to do with a feather? She had no clue. And what were the odds of Dark coming back here anyway? She shook her head. Sakura had other things to worry about. It was a school day after-all, which meant Takeshi. She panicked as she looked at the clock. Missing the train would not be the beginning of a good day. Cramming her books in her bag, she rushed through the motions of getting ready and ran out the door. She managed to board the train right before the rain started. Then she realized she had left without an umbrella or jacket. Oops.

Daisuke came rushing in looking frantic and wet. He shook his hair off as he took his usual seat.

"Good morning Daisuke. Were you up late?"

"Oh hi. Um yeah…I was…studying…You?"

"I watched the news about Dark last night, actually." She pondered asking Daisuke about her situation. "Um, hey, could you ask Takeshi to meet me at lunch today?"

"Sure." Daisuke looked at her remembering Takeshi's little conversation plan. Guess he didn't need it now.

The rain was pouring harshly as the train approached the end of the line. Sakura and Daisuke stood under the station, having no protection from the weather.

"How are we supposed to get through this?" Daisuke thought out loud.

Sakura began bouncing up and down fretfully. "We'll have to run it." She held a tight grip on her bag and dashed out into the wetness. "Hurry Daisuke!" she called. She caught him by surprise and chased after her into the rain.

They both made it to school in plenty of time, but were soaking wet and panting.

"That was kind of fun…" Daisuke said.

"Yeah….ha…ha…"

Shaking themselves off in the foyer didn't work as well as they'd hoped. They separated, reaching their respective washrooms to clean up before class started. As Daisuke tousled his hair dry, Takeshi entered looking flabbergasted.

"What the hell Daisuke?!"

Daisuke turned around, surprised at his friend's sudden appearance.

"What's wrong Takeshi?" he asked worriedly.

"She is….soaking wet…Sakura is soaking wet!" he groaned. "What am I supposed to do? I don't know if I can look at her the same after that…"

"C-calm down. It'll be okay. It's raining really hard outside…we didn't have anything to stay dry with." He smiled at his friend. "It was her idea anyway."

"Argh!" Takeshi started taking deep breaths.

"Um…by the way, she said she wants to talk to you at lunch. You should be fine by then." Daisuke gave an encouraging smile.

"Yeah…." He really hoped so.

Lunchtime. The sun had begun peeking through the clouds and drying things, but Takeshi Saehara was not okay. He was unable to concentrate the entire class time. All he did was peek back at Sakura when he could. She had thrown her hair back into a ponytail because it was still wet.

'She's just so cute….!!!!' He thought. Takeshi kept fidgeting and knew he couldn't talk to her like this. He'd look like an idiot. He whispered to Daisuke as the bell rang. "I need a minute, okay?" and left his seat to go…somewhere.

Sakura was already outside enjoying the small patches of sunshine here and there. She found a dry table and threw her books on it, digging through her bag for her lunch. She took a bite from her sandwich as Daisuke came over.

"Hi. Takeshi's coming. He just needed to do something."

"That's okay." She continued eating. Then she paused. "Do you know anything about Phantom Thief Dark, Daisuke?"

"What? Him? No…I mean, just what's on the news. Heh." He scratched the back of his head. "Why did you bring that up?"

"I just wanted to ask Takeshi about it…" she said.

"Um, why don't I go find him for you?" Daisuke turned around and saw Takeshi heading their way. That was easy. Takeshi smiled at him in passing and Daisuke left. Takeshi took a seat across from Sakura.

"Hi Sakura-chan." He had no clue what she wanted so he tried to be cute.

"Hi Takeshi. Listen, there was something I wanted to ask you…"

"Yeah, what is it?" He sensed she was nervous about something and was trying to be supportive. He gave her a gentle smile.

"It's about Phantom Thief Dark…."

His smile fell a little. "Oh. Did you go to see him last night?"

"Well, no….I watched it on tv….." She began picking at her sandwich as a distraction. Something didn't feel right to Takeshi. He felt a genuine concern for her. "What was it you wanted to know?" he asked gently.

She started slumping in her seat and leaned in close to him. "Does….he normally….visit people?" she whispered.

"What do you mean? Visit people?" He was confused.

Sakura reached for her bag and tore through it. A gust of wind came by and Takeshi saw something black ruffling between the books on the table. He slowly pulled it out and saw it was a feather. It took a moment to connect the dots.

"Is this it?" he asked.

Sakura looked up and abandoned her search. She gave a small nod. "I found it on my balcony this morning…I thought it was a dream but then I found that…"

"What happened?" Takeshi asked. Sakura fell silent. Then the gears started turning in Takeshi's head. He pocketed the feather. He couldn't just ask her out now. He had to do something elaborate….or not so elaborate. He gave a light chuckle to catch her attention.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Oh nothing," he said slyly, "Just thinking about how great our date is going to be."

"What?" We aren't going on a date." She said quizzically. What was he saying?

"Oh yes we are." He said quietly. "You and I are going out tomorrow night."

"But I never agreed to that!" Now she was scared. Just what was happening inside his head?

"You will though. When we go back into the classroom, I'm going to ask you out and you'll say yes."

"What if I don't?" she mustered up a bit of courage.

He had a glint in his eye. "Then I will tell everyone that you are going out with Dark."

The bell rang to signal the end of lunch. Takeshi got up from the table. "I'll be waiting Sakura-chan."

Sakura almost felt sick. She hastily threw her books and half-eaten lunch back into her bag. She didn't even bother to check for the feather. Why would Takeshi say something like that without something to back it up with? She slowly made her way back to the classroom. A headache formed from everything she felt: anger, embarrassment, betrayal, regret.

Taking a very deep breath, she stepped inside not knowing what to expect. Takeshi stood at the front of the room with a wide grin on his face.

"Everybody quiet!" he said, "I have something to say!" He motioned with his index finger for Sakura to join him. She blushed while standing next to him. She would give anything to sink into the floor at this moment. Her face turned redder still as Takeshi got down on his knee and took her hand.

"Sakura Tomoya, will you go out with me?"

The class erupted into chaos at the event. And in a split second, they hushed, anxious to hear what Sakura would say. Sakura was dizzy from the heat but managed to squeak out, "Yes." Despite the humiliation, a part of her heart began to grow, even if she didn't know it.


End file.
